New Mexico judge upholds gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s conviction in Alec Baldwin’s shooting death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust

A judge has upheld a film gunsmith’s conviction of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cameraman by Alec Baldwin.

Gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed asked a New Mexico court to overturn her conviction or set a new trial, saying prosecutors failed to present evidence that could have cleared her in the shooting on the set of the Western film “Rust.” .

But Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer noted in her written order that Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys had not shown that there was a reasonable possibility that the outcome of the trial would have been different had the evidence been available to her.

The judge also denied a request by Gutierrez-Reed to be released from custody, saying it was moot because the request for a new trial was denied.

Marlow Sommer halted and ended Baldwin’s trial in July due to police and prosecutorial misconduct and withholding evidence from the defense related to the shooting of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins on set outside Santa Fe in 2021.

Baldwin, the star and co-producer of “Rust,” was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal for a film set outside Santa Fe when the revolver exploded, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

A jury convicted Gutierrez-Reed of involuntary manslaughter in March in a trial led by Marlowe Sommer, who later sentenced her to a maximum sentence of 18 months.

Gutierrez-Reed has an appeal against the ruling pending in a higher court. The jury acquitted her of allegations that she tampered with evidence in the “Rust” investigation.

Prosecutors accused Gutierrez-Reed of unintentionally bringing live ammunition to the set of “Rust” and failing to follow basic gun safety protocols.

Among the evidence that Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers said prosecutors did not turn over was a firearms expert’s report on the functionality of the gun Baldwin used, ammunition later turned over to authorities and an interview with Seth Kenney, an ammunition supplier by “Rust”.

Defense attorneys did not immediately respond to an email Monday seeking comment on the judge’s decision.

Gutierrez-Reed pleaded not guilty to a separate felony charge that she allegedly carried a gun into a bar in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where firearms are banned.

A proposed plea agreement awaits judicial review.

Gutierrez-Reed is currently serving her sentence at the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Center.

Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter lawsuit was dismissed in July.

The judge at the Santa Fe, New Mexico, court said at the time that the prosecution made errors in its handling of evidence that she said “impacted the fundamental fairness of the case.”

The decision came after a daylong hearing without a jury on bullets that should have been present as evidence, which Baldwin’s lawyers claimed were “hidden” from them and “buried” in another file.

The matter had upended the trial for Baldwin, who pleaded not guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter amid allegations of negligence.